Justine Henin got past a familiar foe to defend her title at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Saturday.

Henin posted a 6-4 7-5 victory over number two seed Amelie Mauresmo to win the hardcourt tournament for the second straight year.

It was the first title this season and a 30th career triumph for Henin, who improved to 16-0 record in the Dubai event.

The top seed also won in the emirate in 2003 and 2004, but sat out the 2005 tournament with a knee injury.

One day after rallying from a slow start in her semi-final win over third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, Henin never trailed against Mauresmo in a rematch of last year's final.

After breaking the Frenchwoman early in the first set, Henin saved her best for last in the second, converting a break to snap a 5-5 tie before serving out the match to claim the title.

The win sees Henin improve to 7-6 in all meetings against Mauresmo.

The pair last squared off on the WTA Tour back in November, when Henin also posted a straight-sets triumph.